Secret Ballot (2001)

A female election agent and a gun-toting soldier try to collect votes among the local islanders with mixed success.

Director:

Babak Payami

Writers:

Mohsen Makhmalbaf (original idea), Babak Payami

Stars:

Nassim Abdi, Cyrus Abidi, Youssef Habashi

10 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Nassim Abdi	...	Girl
Cyrus Abidi	...	Soldier
Youssef Habashi
Farrokh Shoja
Gholbahar Janghali

Storyline

A soldier stationed on a deserted beach wakes up and discovers that it's not going to be an ordinary day: there are the elections, but nobody seems to know anything about them. Just as an electoral urn is being parachuted from the sky, a young woman disembarks on the beach. To the soldier's bafflement, it turns out that she is in charge of the mobile electoral seat and voting on the islands; therefore the soldier is obliged to obey her orders and escort her with his rifle and army jeep across the desert, where the woman obstinately intends to collect the votes. During the day, stressed by a series of absurd events, the two learn to get to know each other. At sunset, when the young woman leaves, the man realizes that the secret vote contained much more than he had ever imagined.

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Plot Keywords:

looking at oneself in a mirror | vote | election | beach | election agent | 

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Taglines:

In Iran, This Election Day was just the beginning...

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Payami has a pronounced use of long shots (avoiding close-ups in favor of vistas, framing people and sights at a distance) and long takes with shooting scenes continuously for three minutes or more. This directly impacts upon the mood in the film.

User Reviews

Cute but a little too in your face...

I saw this at SF International Film Festival. I liked the pace of the story. The democracy desire of the female voting agent is almost tangible, with her constant running around and pleading people to vote. The soldier was played so well, I was shocked to learn that he was not a professional actor.

Sometimes the metaphors were a little too obvious: how military and democracy play against each other at times, how it is futile to vote where laws don't mean anything. But it was definitely a well-spent 100 minutes giving you a slice of the Iranian culture.

But I have to recommend "The Circle" if you would like to see Iranian movie at its best.

Details

Official Sites:

sourehcinema

Country:

Iran Italy Canada Switzerland

Language:

Persian

Release Date:

26 October 2001 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Bulletin secret

Filming Locations:

Kish Island, Iran

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$14,609, 11 August 2002

Gross USA:

$114,909

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$122,875

Company Credits

Production Co:

Payam Films, Fabrica, Sharmshir

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1